Huge sinkhole poses threat to house

Officials of the city of East Cleveland said they will apply for emergency funds from the state.

EAST CLEVELAND (AP) — An underground drainage pipe ruptured, causing a 40-foot wide sinkhole that threatens to subvert the foundation of a nearby home as it grows wider.

City officials say they are scrambling to come up with the $200,000 necessary to repair the pipe and fill the hole.

Charles Roscoe discovered the sinkhole in his backyard last Aug. 14, and a few days later county engineers determined it was it was caused by a corroded drainage pipe that collapsed, drawing down tons of dirt and debris waterlogged by last week’s heavy rains.

Even Roscoe’s basketball hoop and asphalt court were swallowed up in the hole’s murky pool.

He fears the sinkhole, which has gradually become more than 20 feet deep, will erode the earth under his house’s foundation.

If the city doesn’t act quickly, another round of rainstorms could draw the home down into the sinkhole, Cuyahoga County Engineer Jeff Horvath said.

The city will apply for emergency funds from the state in hopes of fixing the problem quickly, said Collette Clinkscale, East Cleveland’s water department director. In the meantime, city safety forces are stopping by Roscoe’s house regularly to check on conditions around the sinkhole.

The cavity around the pipe probably formed gradually over the past few years, but dry summer weather likely kept it from caving in, Horvath said.

Roscoe and his wife have stayed with relatives since the sinkhole opened up.

Despite concern for his house, Roscoe tried to keep a positive spin on the situation.

“Maybe there’s a bright side,” he said. “I could always fill it with water and put walleye in it.”